fandomhigh | Destiny & Free Will, Week VII [Monday, Period 4]

The students should have gotten a ~~handwaved~~ notice to dress nicely and meet at the Danger Shop, where they were met by a Ghanima waiting just outside the door.

"Right." Reaching inside her coat, Ghanima retrieved a deck of the Dune Tarot and fanned the cards at them. "Step right up, and ask me what today holds for you. Through there --" she gestured at the door to the Shop with the cards, " -- is the Monte Carlo Casino of Monaco. One of the most famous casinos in the world, renowned for its elegance and architecture."

"Your mission is to take the future I forsee, and try to beat it. If I tell you that you are destined to win big, sit outside and give away chips. If I say you fail, go cheat the casino by whatever means you choose. The only rule is not to get caught doing anything illegal by security; that would be a failure of the exam." Not that Ghanima was actually grading them based on the final, she preferred to look at their overall body of work. "I want to see how many of you manage to flaunt destiny."

"After all," she grinned humorlessly, flipping up the Hanged Man with ease. "Navigating the future is a family talent. Who wants to try and beat the oracular Atreides?"

[OOC: OCD Awaits! And now, I crassssssssssssh. Feel free to tag me ooc if there's a future you want Ghani to give your student, otherwise it will be randomized.]

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Agnes nodded at Ghanima. "Okay," she said. "Tell me."

Ghanima's hands were a blur as she used the Way to shuffle the cards, quickly flipping out five at some unseen signal.

"First possible outcome, the Five of Swords," she said, scanning the cards. "Stubbornness or refusal to move into the future, to forget the past or to face pressing responsibilities. Dishonor and stagnation. Not a future I would court, if I were you."

"The second possible outcome is The High Priestess: The abstract, spiritual and intellectual face of the anima. She represents the cyclic and balancing forces of nature and the ancient tradition of healing arts, magic, and spiritual mystery. Possibly a moral victory, or something deeper than winning at a single hand of cards."

"The Judgment, reversed, is what lures you towards the first outcome. Delay, procrastination, mediocrity, and indecision. Not necessarily by you, so beware those around you. The Six of Staves -- the card of Victory -- is what pushes you towards the second option. Triumph over great difficulties."

"The critical factor that decides what will come to pass is the Page of Cups, reversed: Emotional excess and distraction. So long as you stay focused, you should be able to chose your destiny." Ghanima looked up from the cards and smiled. "Any questions?"

Agnes looked directly into Ghanima's eyes. "You stacked the deck, didn't you."

"I did no such thing," Ghanima assured her. "The Dune Tarot is uniquely tuned to the winds of prescience in my universe. We do not know how or why, but it can function almost on its own, even without a gifted navigator."

And when paired with Ghanima, an Atreides and a Bene Gesserit, well, sometimes it was more accurate than even she was comfortable with.

She offered the deck to Agnes. "Check it yourself. The card-tiles are all identical along the sides and back, there is no way to differentiate between them during the shuffle."

Agnes shrugged and didn't take the deck. "I believe you. But I had to ask, didn't I?" She reached out and tapped the Five of Swords. "I've been here for the past two years. This isn't about the casino at all."

"Destiny is all in how you interpret it," Ghanima said with a shrug. "To be perfectly blunt, I loathe the idea of a set future. A universe of infinite surprises, that is what I pray for."

"If there is one thing I hope you are all taking away from this, it is the ability to think critically about the concepts of destiny and free will, and to make your own choices as to what to believe. Am I usually accurate with these?" she asked, holding up Judgment. "Yes. But why? That is the question and the answer, at the same time."

"You're accurate because you are," Agnes answered. "Pick at it too much and it'll go bad."

Destiny & Free Will, Week VII [Monday, Period 4]

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future

Re: Activity: Get Your Future